This present invention relates generally to mobile product applicator machines, and more particularly to mobile product applicator machines having monitoring capability for measuring and reporting the output rate of selected products, e.g. waste products, being dispensed from the mobile product applicator machine.
Various mobile product applicator systems and associated methods of control have been suggested at one time or another, but in each instance, these systems leave something to be desired. For example, there is a need for a mobile product applicator machine that precisely and accurately measures and reports the amount of waste products being dispensed on-the-go and near real-time from the applicator machine whenever the machine traverses a product delivery area. The waste products management industry has not yet recognized the necessity for providing feedback regarding the actual amount of waste products applied. This problem has been totally ignored by the waste products management industry because the focus of this industry has been concentrated on machines and methods to adjust and control the rate of waste product application in contradistinction with machines and information feedback methods to accurately measure and report the actual amount of waste products dispensed on-the-go in near real-time.
Numerous different types of mobile product applicator systems are available today. These systems may include a pull type unit (towed) or a self-propelled unit. Presently, these systems do not provide a means to measure the rate of product output on-the-go in near real-time. Some of these systems do provide a way to adjust the application rate by means of a gate or by changing the rpm of the power unit driving the product applicator. As stated above, they do not provide any feedback as to the actual amount of product applied on-the-go. Typically, the application rate is controlled by adjusting the ground speed of the applicator and adjusting another variable such as gate height in order to apply a given amount of product over a specified area. Such an approach is time consuming and it requires some trial and error in order to determine the proper settings of the numerous variables involved (gate height, conveyor speed or others). It also results in application rates that are above or below the target rate. If these rates are too high due to mistakes in the machine settings, problems such as water and/or ground contamination may result.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,085,372, issued Feb. 4, 1992, to Martin, entitled Manure Spreaders, discloses one such waste (manure) spreader that uses a gate mechanism to control the rate of product application through a trial and error process. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,386,943, issued Feb. 7, 1995, to Peeters, entitled All Purpose V-Shaped Manure Spreader and U.S. Pat. No. 3,876,055, issued Apr. 8, 1975 entitled Farm Waste Material Handler, disclose waste product applicator machines that use a trial and error process to control the product application rate.
Machine and associated methods of accurately controlling the rate of product application have been developed. However, these machines and methods still lack the desirable operator feedback allowing the machine operator to have knowledge of actual waste product application rates measured on-the-go. U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,848 issued Apr. 12, 1994, to Conrad et al., entitled Electromagnetic Meter For Closed Dispensing Container discloses a metering device for controlling the flow rate of granular material through a conduit. U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,128, issued Aug. 10, 1993, to Hill entitled Aggregate Material Spreader, discloses a material spreader attached to a motor vehicle that receives and dispenses an aggregate material in predetermined quantities. U.S. Pat. No. 4,878,598, issued Nov. 7, 1989, to Ruschhaupt, Jr., entitled Method And Apparatus for Dispensing A Substance To A Work Area, discloses a method and apparatus for dispensing a substance using a trial and error procedure. U.S. Pat. No. 4,352,445, issued Oct. 5, 1982, to Cusumano et al., entitled Building Material Applicator, discloses an applicator for introducing and spreading building material in a controlled manner using a metering device.
Still needed, but not available with mobile product applicator machines presently known in the art is a waste product applicator having an integral system to measure and report in near real-time, the discharge rate of waste product and which provides the operator instant feedback via a display or other like mechanism of the actual amount of product applied on-the-go. The data could then be used by the operator to determine the actual waste product application rate.
Modern mobile product applicator machine control systems typically have a host controller located within the operator cab of the machine, including a processor with associated input and output devices. The host is generally directly linked to at least one other controller which may also be located within the cab, and which is responsible for all communication to devices on the machine, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,630,773, issued Dec. 23, 1986, to Ortlip, entitled Method and Apparatus for Spreading Fertilizer, and U.S. Pat. No. Re 35,100, issued Nov. 28, 1995, to Monson et al., entitled Variable Rate Application System, both assigned to Ag-Chem Equipment Company, Inc. of Minnetonka, Minn., the Assignee of the present invention. The system disclosed in the '100 reissue patent comprises a controller accessing a soil map indicating a soil characteristic for each portion of the field. Field locations and status maps indicating current crop input level at various locations in the field to be treated are monitored by a control system. A crop input map is updated after a dispensing pass to provide a status record. Position locators for the machine in the field may include "Dead Reckoning", GPS, or LORAN systems, for example.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,355,815 discloses yet another closed-loop variable rate applicator system. The system operates by determining a soil prescription in near real-time and dispenses crop inputs to the soil scene as a fraction of the soil prescription. The '815 patent is also assigned to Ag-Chem Equipment Company, Inc. and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Another system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,453,924, issued Sep. 26, 1995, to Monson et al., entitled Mobile Control System Responsive To Land Area Maps. This system expands on earlier known applicator machine control systems including those heretofore assigned to Ag-Chem Equipment Company, Inc., by incorporating a network scheme which links a host controller positioned within the operator cab to multiple controllers located at various points on the machine external to the operator cab. All of the above patents are assigned to the Assignee of the present invention and are incorporated by reference in their entirely herein. The control systems referenced herein above describe systems which, when properly configured with the present inventive algorithmic software and associated sensors and feedback devices, may be adapted to practice the present invention.